Alamos Woodworkers – Arts & Crafts

Last modified: August 18, 2017

62… Working in wood is a long standing Álamos tradition …

Martin Rosas at work at his families' Carpenteria Rosas.

Martín Servando Rosas was a busy man on a mission. He taught carpentry at the
elementary- junior high school. He managed the well-laid-out Carpenteria Rosas,
off of Calle Galeana, where his brothers Germain and Carlos worked. Martín was
involved with the “Hands across the Border” program which took 20 to 40 kids
north for two to four days and a Discovery tour program that involved ten adults
at a time. He was running a business, hand crafting wood and sharing his
experience-skills with the next generations. Martín expressed his faith in
Mexico’s future through his strong belief of the necessary good community
service provided. As I was leaving Carpenteria Rosas I turned back and
saw Martín focused on a project at hand, there was a production
schedule to be met.

March 5, 2017, Martín on the courts of Paulita Verjan #15 Secondary School.

22 years later, Anders met Martín Servando Rosas Enriquez in early 2017
at school. Martin was acting Principal for Paulita Verjan #15 Secondary
School in Centro Álamos. He was hoping if he was selected to be a Principal
he would be able to stay in Álamos which isn’t a given. Martín father,
Martín Rosas Medivil, also taught at the school and was a woodworker as
was his grandfatherfather, Martín Rosas Cota. The roof over the courts
was there when Anders visited two decades ago. Martín told answer that
there could be as many as 5,000 students in Álamos and that the Independence
Day Parade now needed a longer route to fit all the students.

To have a wood door built and carved by Ramon Figueroa was a big deal.

Ramon Nicholas Figueroa Castro was one of the most respected artists-
craftsmen in Álamos. Members of the North American community spoke
of him in hushed tones reserved for masters and maestros. Any visitor
that asked about local creative talent would learn about Ramon and his
growing reputation outside of Álamos. Many locals recognized a Ramon
carved door as a collectable piece of art, hard to come by for a variety
of reasons: he works slow, he is busy with a growing client waiting list,
needed materials were hard to find, he is expensive because of his rising
profile and, or… If one managed to purchase a Ramon it became the
opening to countless conversations.

The Ramon I met was quiet spoken with a soft smile and simple gestures.
It seemed he did what he did because it was what he did, there was a
simplicity to his movement. Everything else surrounding his work was
what other people did because it was what they did. Ramon hoped they
would pay him what they had agreed to pay him and he would be left to
his work, after-all, it is what he does.

Ramon together with his wood working brothers at their shop.

The brothers Figueroa all worked with wood on their family property on Calle de las Delicias.
Manuel, Emir Yonolan, Wilson, Paul, David and Ramon, not in the other
of the above photo, shared a sprawling work space both open air and
under roof. There were few walls: nature came in and their wood
creations went out. Trees provided shade for craftsmen making tables,
chairs, windows, doors… On this day Ramon was finishing a beautiful
bureau. Its elegant turnings and graceful details stood out in sharp
contrast to the dirt floor.

Art and music is a family thing in Álamos. Many of those around the
Figueroa brothers probably will work in wood themselves. The creative
skills are past down from father to son, mother to daughter, uncles
and aunts to nephews and nieces. As an example, the Quartet de Alamos
performed at Casa de los Tesoros for as long as I had known Alamos.
On my last visit the bass player’s son was playing bass for Estudiantina
de Alamos. I could imagine the son replacing his father in the Quartet,
or playing in his own band, someday, somewhere in Álamos or…

Towns Live On Through the Skills and Attention of Its Maestros, Craftsmen and Laborers.

Walking is a common choice of transportation in Alamos, Sonora, Mexico.
To school, work, play, church, shopping to the buses. There are taxis
and cars but walking is the Alamos way for most. And in the day wherever
you walk there are workers at work. Big jobs, little jobs, it is all work.

Warmth Radiates off of Adobe Walls as Another Winter Day Begins.

Kite flying is popular in Álamos, Sonora, Mexico. Drinking beer outside
the pickup with friends is popular. Fun and work go on side by side
as we visit a wood shop.

Behold a Cornucopia of Color, Shapes, Textures and Scents.The flora of
Álamos is the many splendors of Sinaloan tropical forest and Sonoran
desert living together in unexpected harmony. Many properties have
gardeners watering, pruning, consulting, planting, cutting, raking,
commiserating, trimming and… year round. Flowers and vegetables
are planted in November for winter blooms and crops that last until
May or June’s heat… Mangos, papayas, bananas, palms, amapas, orchidias
and other trees provide food and shelter for native and migrating birds.
Cascades of colors come from flowering vines: blue veracruzana, orange
trumpet, red, magenta and orange bougainvilla and… And the smells and
scents that envelope one’s senses… Formal, informal… it all
contributes to this symphony and riot that is the passing seasons in
Álamos, Sonora, Mexico. Photos, editing and produced by Anders Tomlinson.
Music is “Jardin de Colores”, written and performed by Samuel Delatorre
Dorame, from his 2013 CD “Memorias de Álamos, Sonora.”

Somewhere in the mountain
Indian's timeless spell,
framed by stately 18th century
Spanish architecture and
peppered with modern
electronic gadgetry, is a
small quiet town whose
women are beautiful
and men handsome.

This Shangri-La, at
the very end of paved
road from the west,
is Alamos Sonora, Mexico.

Behold ridge after volcanic
ridge, separated by deep
narrow canyons, marching
on for a hundred miles, and
climbing to 10,000 feet
where giant hawks
and eagles soar.

The monumental silence
is all powerful.

Time is reduced to mere
sand, worn off of towering
rock faces and carried
away with the winds.
These endless ridges
conjure up stark silhouettes
of reclining warriors, upon
whose barren stomachs
humble life persists.

Over the horizon, to the
southwest, is the famous
Copper Canyon region.

The eye continues to sweep
the horizon and returns,
as it always does,
to the cathedral's classically
proportioned three-tiered
belfry announcing civilization
on the half hour.

Past, present and future
comes together,in a special
way, as one walks down
hand-swept cobblestone
streets listening to
laughing children behind
bougainvillea-crowned walls.